Jean says, “Now that we know Sasha Gillemet is really just a thug, it is unlikely we will be able to work with her. We may have bought a month from my gift of a map, but it is just a matter of time until she comes looking for the dagger and the mask. As for Hauptner, since he is in bed with her, we will probably also have a difficult time convincing him to help us. That leaves Giovanni. If you look at the map you will see that Gillemet controls all of the most direct routes south, both by river and by road.

“We will probably not be able to sneak by her to get to Giovanni if we go that way. However her forces are not well organized. It is unlikely that she has much control of the western part of her lands, once you get away from the roads and inns. If we can find and chart a path through the Black Crags we can bypass her stranglehold on the region.” He traces the dotted line on the map.

“This could have large trade implications for Giovanni, and is the reason we came to the Border Princes in the first place. For the dwarves, we may find some of your kin in the Crags, or at least some green skins and giants to slay. And for the elves, what better way to see more of nature. Once we discover it, we would not be able to protect or improve the way by ourselves. But if Giovanni is looking for more trade, and is worried about the threat to his north, then he may help us with the manpower to do that. What do you say?”

We complete the planning for our trip to see Giovanni. We will circumvent Sasha’s lands (and patrols) by going to the west, but we will visit the dwarves first to get our armor.

We head south to the Crossed Lances and announce our intent to leave the area and go to the east, to give any potential spies incorrect information. We gather supplies for the trip including food, tools, horses and a mule.

We set off to the east as we had told people, then turn south to go and visit the dwarves we had previously met and pick up our armor and weapons. After a few days we arrive there unmolested and let them know of our plan. The dwarves let us know that there is an abandoned dwarven keep in the mountains.

The next day we come across a group of hill people. We decide to approach them to see what they might know about the area. They speak Kislevite (Russian) and then switch to Tilian (Italian). Only Maruviel knows Tilian but he is able to converse with them. They say that no dwarves have been in the area for many years, but there is a keep about half a day’s march south and west of here. It has been abandoned for many years. He says that a few people have come through here recently, a few dwarves, but not many others.

We ask if we could stay around here for the evening and they point us to a spot which is a flat dry riverbed. They say that sometimes night goblins and bears come through here otherwise it is mostly safe.

After we start our camp, we notice a light off in the distance. It is a light moving up and down like a lantern. As they get closer we see four humans carrying torches and lanterns. They are all armed.

They approach and see us, then call out to ask who we are. They say that they are mercenaries who do business with Giovanni. Jean explains who we are and they decide to come and share the fire with us.

Vincenzio is the leader, along with Nunzio, Giancarlo and Antonio. They are friendly but a bit wary of us so they do not want to share much info on Giovanni except that he is fairly hands-off.

Suddenly Brokk hears a sound like the beating of wings. A giant winged creature with the head of a lion alights on top of a nearby standing stone. It is a manticore! It roars and flies down, impaling Nunzio. Brokk is petrified. The others take care of it with a few swipes.

Maruviel lets the rest of us know that the tail of the manticore is quite poisonous, and they are born of chaos so they are prone to other mutations. This one is fairly standard. The poison gland can be useful, however we don’t know how to find it. We decide to push it off the edge into the crevasse.

The next day we continue moving, saying farewell to Giovanni’s men.